Teacher of the year makes math fun

PAULETTE PERHACH

Published Thursday, April 06, 2006

When St. Johns County teacher of the year Jamie Godfrey walked into a faculty meeting Wednesday, her co-workers adorned her with a sequin crown, a scepter, a pink cape and a sash that read "Queen of Everything."

Later, as her students walked into math class at Fruit Cove Middle School, they congratulated her on the way in, but they barely noticed her crown. It seemed like just another Mrs. Godfrey antic.

In class Wednesday, her students took their seats and Godfrey began, talking to her kids in a relaxed, friendly tone, as though they were all in this together.

In her classroom, colorful with Disney characters, Easter decorations and Mr. Potato Heads, the students started by reviewing their homework.

They all had theirs done.

"OK, you guys," she said. "Tell me what you think we do with this one. Think, talk to me."

She talked the problems out with them, smiling and nodding, her green eyes bright, as they got it.

Their memories might be jogged by a song they learned or a game they played. Ask any of her students what the quadratic formula is, and they'll sing you a song to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It," ending with "I don't like it but I want to get an A."

For solving algebraic problems for x, Godfrey took her students on a stealth mission to save it, tearing down walls and saving the letter. It was more fun than solving a math problem.

"It was silly but it worked," said Godfrey.

Clay Carmichael, principal at Fruit Cove, said it's Godfrey's personality that makes her such a great teacher.

"Teaching takes a degree of animation. You have to be a little eccentric, especially to be a middle school teacher. You have to have good relationships," he said. "It's a craft. She just has it."

Her students seem to love her "kookiness," even if it tricks them into learning math.

"We do a lot of math, but she makes it fun," said Mallory Theis, 13. "I was so happy when I got her as a teacher. People were like, 'Oh, you got Ms. Godfrey? You're so lucky.'"

Godfrey seems to be achieving her goal of making math fun for students.

She has known from the days of playing school as a little girl that she wanted to spend her adulthood in the classroom.

"I just always kind of knew I wanted to be a teacher," she said.

"I just felt like I needed to be here. Once I got in the classroom, it was like, 'Forget it; I don't ever want to leave.'"

She said she fell in love with the middle school age.

"It doesn't bother me to talk about SpongeBob and American Idol," she said. "I watch the movies they watch and read what they read so that we can relate."

Godfrey, 36, has been teaching for about six years.

She was born in Florida but moved around the nation as a Navy brat. She moved to Florida when her husband's company transferred him.

In teaching, she measures her success by the reaction of her students.

"My biggest reward is when I have a student come up to me and say, 'Thank you for what you've done for me,'" she said, easily tearing up.

Just two weeks ago, as she was checking out of Old Navy, the cashier, a former student, raved to her about how much he loved her class, and how math has never been as fun.

"That's what it's about, the kids. It's not the money. It's not being a teacher. It's seeing them every day," she said. "That's what's groovy about it."